Sunday, December 23, 2012

12 Days of Christmas - Rachael Johns

Well, it's finally here -- not Christmas! Well, not quite. No, it's the last post in the magic that has been:

The 12 Days of Christmas

Food and Romance

Blogging Extravaganza!

My final guest on TDoCFaRBE is the amazing Rachael Johns. Rachael writes cracking contemporary romance and while Christmas is always a wonderful time, especially when you have three little heroes-in-training running around the house as Rachael does, I'm sure she can't wait for January when she has two new books hitting the shelves! (See details after Rachel's divine recipe.)

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the gorgeous authors who've taken the time to be part of TDoCFaRBE. This started as a last-minute, over-excited idea when I began thinking of what sort of cooking I needed to do for Christmas. And I couldn't be more thrilled with the enthusiasm and contributions from everyone I invited to take part. Now, take it it away, Rachael!

White Christmas Crackles (Kid-friendly)

by Rachael Johns

Thank you Emmie for inviting me to take
part in your lovely Christmas blog series. I must admit I love Christmas – for
a number of reasons but especially for the excuse to eat a whole host of
delicious food. Ooh, my stomach is rumbling just thinking about it.

Saying that, I would much prefer other
people cook the main Christmas meal. I used to be quite a good cook but over
the course of the last few years, I’ve sadly gotten worse and worse. NOTHING
seems to work for me at the moment. So, you can imagine my stress when the last
week of school I was told I needed to make kid-friendly White Christmas
crackles for a school function. As I said, my cooking leaves much to be desired
lately but when it’s for something important, it always fails. So I decided not
to follow a recipe but to make up something and just hope for the best.

I have three fussy boys and I wanted
something they would actually eat as well. So, I decided to forgo the
partly-healthy White Christmas recipes I saw on the net (with dried fruit and
nuts in) and go for something all out naughty! The end result was surprisingly
delicious and the process really easy. Even the adults enjoyed them, so I would
recommend this recipe for anyone needing to make something yummy that looks good but is really simple and quick to make.

Spoon generous amount of
mixture into muffin-size patty pans – I made about 15 but you can alter the
size of the crackles to make more or less.

Place in the fridge for half an
hour!

Ta-dah!! It’s that easy!

As you can see this is the simplest recipe
ever but it tastes and looks really good. So, if you’re not much of a cook
(sadly like me now), then this is a fabulous treat to make when you need to
take a plate to that Christmas party.

N.B You can alter what you put in to make
these more adult-friendly. I’d like to try it with some nuts one day J

As an anthropologist, Holly McCartney is
more comfortable in a museum than shopping on Rodeo Drive. She isn’t prepared
for the media frenzy on her arrival in L.A. to accept a posthumous acting award
for her late sister….or for her sister’s gorgeous friend Nate Devlin to come to
her rescue. Though he resents her for some reason, she can’t fight their
irresistible chemistry—especially when the paparazzi force her to stay at his mansion.

Photographer Nate only agrees to help Holly
survive Hollywood for her sister’s sake, but she soon gets under his skin in a
way no other woman has. The more time he spends with her, the more his
attraction grows and he finds himself opening up to her in ways he never
expected. But will ghosts of the past stand in the way of their perfect
Hollywood ending?

Imogen Bates moved to the small rural town of Gibson’s Find to
start a new life for herself after the death of her husband. Tired of being
haunted by the painful memories of her old life, Imogen set her last remaining
hopes on the little town and, in particular, pouring her heart and savings into
restoring The Majestic Hotel to its former glory. But while the female-starved
town might be glad to see a young woman move in, not everyone is happy about
Imogen’s arrival.

Sheep and crop farmer Gibson Black once dreamed of having the
kind of family his grandfather reminisces about, but he’s learnt not to dream
anymore. Living in the mostly male town suits Gibson down to the ground...and
he won’t have anyone — least of all a hot redhead from the city — change a
thing.

Imogen has never been one to back down from a challenge,
especially when it concerns her last chance at happiness. She’s determined to
rebuild the pub and create a future for the little town. But can she create a
future for Gibson and herself, too?

Visit my website!

About Me

After years of writing press releases, employee newsletters and speeches for CEOs and politicians – none of which included any kind of kissing – Emmie Dark finally took to her laptop to write what she wanted to write. She was both amazed and delighted to discover that what came out was sexy, noble heroes who found themselves crossing paths with strong, determined heroines. And plenty of kissing. Emmie's first two books were published in 2012 by Harlequin SuperRomance.
Learn more: www.emmiedark.com